Janelle Sandboe: My Linguistics Story

Bio

For me, Linguistics was love at first lecture. I remember the first day of my introductory class when the instructor asked a volunteer to tell the class how they say their name and naturally, I raised my hand. I spoke it loudly, confidently, happy that I had passed the first test in Linguistics. Then she said, "That's great, but can you tell us how you say your name?" I was completely flabbergasted, but soon learned that what the instructor was trying to teach us is that human beings are rarely conscious of how they use language -- me included. I had no idea that some vowels were "rounder" than others, that some consonants were "aspirated". Later, when we learned about "allophones" and "minimal pairs", I was dumbfounded at my own ignorance. Next I realized that I articulate my [t] differently in the two languages that I consider myself fluent in, without any conscious effort on my part. My mind was opened to the reality of how very little I knew about my own languages.

As an undergrad in Linguistics, I never lost the wonder that I acquired from LING201. Language is exciting, dynamic, and absolutely vast -- how could I not be impressed? I developed a serious passion for the study of language, and this passion led me to become increasingly involved in the Linguistics community on campus. And I have to say, as much as I love my science of choice, I love the group of people who dedicate themselves to it even more; Linguistics truly is a remarkable field full of passionate academics and professionals. We are almost like a secret society, a collective of individuals who study the magic of Language (capital "L"), a science more like wizardry than fact to others. But it is science, and it is relevant to all human beings -- that is how Linguistics drew me in, into a world of new understanding and a community of like-minded investigators.